The present disclosure relates to a filler neck closure assembly for a vehicle fuel tank, and particularly to a filler neck closure for use in a capless fuel tank filler neck. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a fuel-dispensing pump nozzle seal for use in a filler neck closure assembly.
A removable fuel cap with a sealing gasket is typically used to close the open end of a fuel tank filler neck. After an attendant fills the fuel tank and withdraws the pump nozzle from the filler neck, the fuel cap is attached to the filler neck so that the sealing gasket forms a seal between the fuel cap and the filler neck. Thus, the fuel cap closes the open end of the filler neck to block discharge of liquid fuel and fuel vapor from the fuel tank through the filler neck. Some fuel caps are provided with pressure-relief and vacuum-relief valves to permit some controlled venting of fuel vapors in the filler neck while the fuel cap is mounted on the filler neck.
It has been observed that fuel caps are often lost or damaged over time and, as a result, the open end of the filler neck might not be closed and sealed in accordance with original equipment specifications during operations of the vehicle. Accordingly, a filler neck configured to xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d automatically as a fuel-dispensing pump nozzle is inserted into the filler neck during refueling and xe2x80x9cclosexe2x80x9d automatically once the pump nozzle is withdrawn from the filler neck without requiring an attendant to reattach a fuel cap to the filler neck would be an improvement over many conventional capped filler neck systems. Although conventional fuel caps function to close filler necks in a satisfactory manner, it is thought that a capless filler neck could make vehicle refueling more convenient for consumers because no action other than inserting a pump nozzle into the outer end of the filler neck would be required to begin refueling a vehicle.
According to the present disclosure, a filler neck closure assembly includes a nozzle receiver associated with a vehicle fuel tank filler neck. The assembly also includes a fuel-discharge control collar mounted for movement relative to the nozzle receiver.
During fuel tank refueling, a fuel-dispensing pump nozzle is extended by a refueling attendant into the filler neck through a collar aperture formed in the fuel-discharge control collar and a nozzle-receiving passageway formed in the nozzle receiver. The control collar is normally xe2x80x9cat restxe2x80x9d on the nozzle receiver to block unwanted discharge of certain xe2x80x9cresidualxe2x80x9d droplets of liquid fuel present on a splash-back closure plate included in the nozzle receiver during initial insertion of the pump nozzle into the nozzle receiver. The control collar is also arranged to move a limited distance away from the nozzle receiver should an automatic pump nozzle shut-off system associated with the pump nozzle fail to work properly during fuel tank refueling so that any liquid fuel or fuel vapor discharged from the filler neck is diverted by the fuel-discharge control collar to a designated spray-diversion region within the filler neck closure assembly.
Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.